CNR - An agreement has been signed by Dr Volker Liebig, Director of the Earth Observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA) on behalf of ESA and by Dr Paolo Prefetti, President of the CNR Research Campus Tor Vergata, Rome, on behalf of CNR for the development and use of Grid technology. A three-year collaboration is planned which includes the completion of the optical fibre network between the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) and CNR Tor Vergata, essential for the sharing of data and computing resources in earth science projects and applications. ESA-ESRIN and CNR also participate in the Megalab project (Metropolitan e-Government Application Laboratory) which aims at setting up a new high-speed data link from the centre of Rome to Frascati, linking numerous research institutions in the area into a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). This network is seen as a way of boosting regional competitiveness and offering innovative e-government services, enabling Grid computing for science and also business.